Hospitalist Program Is Vital To Wright Memorial Hospital

As the two-year mark of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic approaches, health care workers have been taxed and pushed to the limits. An integral part of the COVID-19 patient care model in many health care settings includes the hospitalist team, who are quite literally on the frontlines of the pandemic.
A hospitalist is a physician, usually board-certified in internal medicine or family medicine, who is specially trained to take care of hospitalized patients. At Wright Memorial Hospital, a team approach is used to treat patients. The hospitalist serves as the captain of the team to manage patient care around the clock, 24 hours a day, and the team includes advanced practice providers to augment the number of patients receiving care. The hospitalist team diagnoses and treats the patient’s condition; orders medications, tests, procedures; and consults with other specialists to ensure the patient receives the best care. They keep the patient and their family informed of what to expect and address any concerns. After they leave the hospital, all test results, medication changes, and recommended treatment plans are sent to the patient’s primary care provider.
At Wright Memorial Hospital, that team includes Dr. Maureen Weber, and advanced practice providers Michelle Greathouse, Amy Ohrenberg and Courtney Pitt. Arriving soon will be Dr. Bryon Thornton and advanced practice provider Jayme DeVoy, who will both be joining the team in the spring. The team also regularly consults with Saint Luke’s Physician Group hospitalists in Kansas City via telemedicine.
“One of the great things about having hospitalists take care of inpatient care is the doctor or the advanced practice provider is always available for questions and concerns,” said Steve Schieber, CEO at Wright Memorial Hospital. “They are specifically trained to provide inpatient care and can solely focus on the inpatient since they don’t have office appointments to get back to. This has been especially important during the pandemic, as we’ve had a large number of COVID-19 positive patients who’ve needed to be monitored closely.”
The hospitalist model also allows the hospitalist team to focus on what really matters most to the patient and their family.
“We recently had an elderly patient who was battling several serious health issues, was hospitalized for some serious complications, and also tested positive for COVID-19,” said Schieber. “Dr. Weber spent a lot of time keeping the family updated on his progress. On one occasion, Dr. Weber took the time out of her busy schedule to drive over to the patient’s house to pick up his wife, who couldn’t drive herself to visit her husband at the hospital. The patient ended up going into a coma that next day and then passed away a few days later, but because of Dr. Weber’s kindness, the wife was able to tell her husband goodbye one last time. This is just one of the many examples of kindness and compassion displayed by our hospitalist team. There isn’t a week that goes by that I’m not hearing another example of the great care the hospitalist team has provided.”
When the patient is ready to leave the hospital, the hospitalist team will provide discharge instructions, including follow-up appointments, medication recommendations, and dietary and exercise restrictions, if appropriate. The team can also help arrange post-hospital needs such as special equipment, physical therapy, or rehab. The patient will then return to their primary care provider for the remainder of their recovery, prescription refills and preventive care.
“The hospitalist will always circle back with the patient’s primary provider to ensure everyone is on the same page from the very beginning of the hospital stay to the very end,” said Schieber. “It gives hospital patients a greater level of personal care and attention and gives primary care providers more time in their clinics to see more patients in a timely manner. It’s really a great care model, and one that I think allows the patient to receive the best care possible.”